Home Building Market Is Still In A Slump

“This is the lowest its ever been since I’ve been here,” Pat Conway of Permits & Inspections said of the local home building market, as he presented his Permit Activity Report for FY2017.

During Fiscal Year 2017, which ran from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, Cecil County issued 1,680 permits. These included:

Single Family Homes 84

Manufactured Homes 43

Multi-family dwellings 71

Residential Additions 751

Residential Garages 83

Pole Barns/Sheds 246

Commercial/Industrial Buildings 35

Commercial/Industrial Additions 39

Pools, Decks & Piers 110

Miscellaneous 218

When asked why there are so many more home additions/renovations than new homes, Conway said believes that with the additional requirements for new homes such as upgrades to septic systems and the addition of sprinkler systems, people have been discouraged from attempting new home construction and instead have either purchased an existing home and made improvements or have stayed in their current home and made improvements.

The department collected nearly $1.2 million in fees during the year.

County permits are also issued within most of the county’s towns. Elkton issues its own building permits In FY17, county permits in municipalities included:

Cecilton – eight building, two electric

Charlestown – 51 building, nine plumbing, nine HVAC, 23 electric

Chesapeake City – 18 building, two plumbing, two HVAC, nine electric

North East – 58 building, five plumbing, three HVAC, 19 electric

Perryville – 65 building, ten plumbing, five HVAC, 36 electric

Port Deposit – ten building

Between FY88 and FY17, the year with the most building permits was FY04 with 2,541 building permits, including 606 homes.

As for Commercial/Industrial Permits, the top year was FY13 with 104 permits issued.

Commercial/Industrial Permits during the past decade are:

Year Commercial/Industrial Permits

FY1774

FY1677

FY15 67

FY1461

FY13104

FY1279

FY1192

FY10 66

FY09 49

FY08 71

Conway said Permits & Inspections continues to work to streamline the amount of time needed to obtain a permit. He said many people are savvy in determining what is needed for a permit and follow the guidelines, adding that those who complain about a slow process have usually failed to bring the proper information/documentation necessary for a smooth permitting process.